A Basler BT-67 (turbine DC-3) aircraft used by the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) to conduct airborne coastal surveys (ACS) was viewed and toured by Naval Support Activity Naples personnel at Capodichino, Jan. 20.

Italian air force Lt. Col. Abundo Dario, operations officer, and Maj. Gennaro Miranda, Italian air force liaison, toured the aircraft along with numerous U.S. Navy personnel throughout the day.

In support of U.S. Navy geospatial requirements, this aircraft surveys large areas of the littoral seafloor and topography to quickly collect the data needed to produce updated nautical charts and characterization of the water column and seafloor. The BT-67 is specifically outfitted as a multi-mission survey aircraft capable of 11-hour flight endurance and equipped with a sonobuoy drop tube for deploying other sensors while surveying.

"The visit by this unique aircraft provides a rare opportunity to showcase the airborne survey system capabilities and ways NAVOCEANO is using it to meet combatant and fleet commanders' geospatial requirements quickly and cost effectively," said NAVOCEANO Commanding Officer Capt. Greg Ireton.

NAVOCEANO has been operating airborne bathymetric laser and imagery systems to map the littoral environment in support of U.S. Navy geospatial requirements since 1996. The current airborne collection system employed by NAVOCEANO is the Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar system, which produces simultaneous, high-resolution 3-D data and imagery of the beach and shallow water seafloor down to approximately 50 meters in clear water.

ACS can also provide support to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, such as the hydrographic survey support the program provided to Operation Unified Response following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

NAVOCEANO, comprised of approximately 800 military, civilian, and contractor personnel, uses a variety of platforms including ships, aircraft, satellite sensors, buoys, and unmanned underwater vehicles to collect oceanographic and hydrographic data from the world's oceans.

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